Don't Let Me Go
by Riveting Red Pants
Summary: Hans had a plan. He had a very clear plan. But then again, plans change when you fall in love, don't they?
1. Chapter 1

**For whatever reason, my lovely muse is in love with Hans. I don't get why, I kind of hate the guy. But she wanted a fic, she gets a fic. **

**Don't Let me Go**

Plans always had a way of unraveling. He looked at the sleeping girl in his arms, placed on his horse's saddle, bouncing in between his biceps unconsciously. The plan was to kill her, kill her and take control of the kingdom. Power was a breath away, it wouldn't be hard to grasp. He was going to blame the murder of her younger sister on the ice witch. Everyone would believe him easy enough, Elsa scared the commoners, she terrified everyone around her on the night of her coronation. Yes, the plan would be easy to accomplish. But looking down at the girl, he could feel his plans shift. She was beautiful, that much was true. Her sister, Anna was beautiful as well, but in a different, less mature way. She was "quirky" which, in Hans's mind was just a nicer word for annoying. Anna was annoying. Elsa was quiet, more reserved, but with a beauty much like ice. She stood proud and tall, strong, and fearsome. She was quite the creature. She mumbled something in her sleep and shivered into Hans. He paused in his riding to draw his jacket off and place it over her. She sighed. He brushed back a lock of her metallic white hair. No. The plan. Remember the plan.

He rode on.

She awoke, finding her hands shackled to the floor. They felt uncomfortably cramped and cold. She tried moving her fingers in the metal but they wouldn't even budge. She yanked on the chain to look out the window. Her heart stalled when she saw the mess she had created. Hans came in the room. She took him in, he was tall, handsome. His chestnut hair swept over his face. She could certainly see why her sister had chosen him.

"Your majesty." He greeted her, stonily, trying not to notice how helpless she looked, how innocent. She didn't deserve this, and he knew it.

"You have to tell them to let me out!" She begged him. His felt pity radiate through him. He wanted nothing more in those seconds than to give her the key and free her. To pull her into his arms and warm her. To-, no. The plan. He regained his composure.

"I'm doing everything I can." He told her. Her lip quivered as if she were about to cry. Please, don't let her cry. Not in front of me. He begged someone, whoever was listening. Please don't let her cry right now. And she didn't. She stood up straight, and that was almost worse. She was so determined, so strong. He had to turn around and leave. He couldn't stand in the same room as her for this long. "I will be back later with some food." He told her over his shoulder.

He plotted, he talked with the advisers. He internally plotted some more. The first person to go when he became king was the Duke. Something about that man just rubbed him wrong. Talk about irritating. Hans noticed that he played with his ring a lot, spinning it around and around on the table. It had a dinosaur on it, and on the side was engraved "_Watch how I soar_" Well he was going to soar alright. Out of the window of the castle. Or maybe Hans would "accidentally" put a sword through his heart. The idea gave Hans great pleasure. Hans looked up at the clock and realized Queen Elsa hadn't eaten all day. He excused himself and rushed to the kitchen and had the cook prepare her some soup. He walked back into her cell, past the guard. She was sitting, stooped over on her cot when he came in. She straightened up immediately and fixed him with an icy gaze.

"I brought you some soup." He told her, lifting up the bowl.

"Oh great, just unshackle my hands so I can eat it." He looked down at her hands, coated in metal. This had been something he hadn't planned for. She couldn't feed herself. He calculated his options. He could have someone else feed it to her, but he was trying (for now) to be somewhat in the Queen's good graces, he had to appear like he was doing everything he could . . . and if that meant feeding her soup. . .he set the tray down on the bed and sat down next to it.

"I'll feed you."

"This is ridiculous." She said, huffing. Hans smiled charmingly.

"No, it's really good soup." He lifted a spoon to her mouth and watched her wonderful lips part to take it in. When he withdrew for another spoonful she smiled.

"You're funny, I can see why Anna likes you." She told him, smiling a bit herself. "Maybe . . . maybe after all of this is over we can work something out . . . between you two." She looked at the ground of the cell. He lifted another spoonful to her mouth.

"Maybe it's for the best. Maybe Anna and I were just . . . rushing into things." Elsa looked up at him now, and he could've sworn he saw hope in her eyes.

"Why do you say that?"

"Well I just . . . I just don't really know her at all." He told the queen. For once he couldn't figure out his motivation. What would not marrying Anna get him? A big lap full of nothing, that's what. His plan was going smoothly without all of this complication.

"You could get to know her." She said, swallowing another bite of soup.

"I'd rather get to know you." He cursed the words the moment they were out of his mouth. Elsa seemed to freeze, her eyes grew infinitely wider. "Excuse me. I'm sorry. I don't know why I said that." He stated shoveling the soup into her mouth faster than she could swallow in his nervousness, trying to avoid her response.

"Too . . . fast . . ." She said, choking a little bit.

"Oh. Oh i'm sorry. Forgive me, your highness." He paused to let her catch her breath.

"What do you mean you want to get to know me?"

"Well you're just so . . . so much more interesting than your sister. So strong and smart . . . and I just . . . I feel that I can relate to that a little bit more you know?" Elsa just stared at him. "I'm sorry, I keep speaking out of turn. I'll send someone else in to help you finish your soup if you want . . ." He felt his face heated with a blush he could not remember ever feeling before.

"No . . . no that's alright. I'd like you to finish helping me." He looked up at her and saw a tiny smile grace her wonderful mouth. "Maybe I could get to know you too, Hans."


	2. Chapter 2

**For those of you wondering about the Duke's ring, it was a little tidbit I wrote in to reference Firefly, because Alan Tudyk, who played Wash in Firefly, played the Duke in frozen. Which means I love him. :3 Thanks for all your wonderful reviews! Keep em coming darlings! **

The next morning Hans greeted Elsa with a tray full of hot cinnamon buns, rumored to be the queen's favorite. She lay on her cot, asleep, the covers kind of half pulled over her. He realized without her hands, she couldn't pull the blankets up to warm herself in the cold room. She blinked awake when the door opened.

"I didn't realize that you wouldn't be able to pull your blankets up. I am sorry." He told her, setting down the tray. She smiled.

"It's okay, I'm not much bothered by the cold." She lifted her hands. "Who's idea was this anyway?" Hans shrugged.

"People were scared of you, your majesty."

"I don't know why . . . I've never meant to harm anyone in my entire life. All I've done is stay in my room and-,"

"People are often the most afraid of the unknown. No one knows the extent of these . . . 'powers' and no one knows you, so how can they trust you not to use them for evil?" Elsa saw that he was right and bit her lip.

"I had never thought of it that way. I was so focused on not hurting anyone, on staying away, that I never imagined maybe the answer would be to get to know them . . ."

"A great ruler should always know their people." Hans said, far away, in his father's throne room with his brothers, listening to his father's lectures. "At least, that's what my father always said." His mind snapped back to the present. He smiled and lifted up a cinnamon bun. "I heard you liked these," he told her. She smiled.

"I do but they are quite hard to eat in the most graceful of times." She rattled the chains again. "And I fear now is not the most graceful of times for me." Hans took off his gloves and set them down beside the tray, he picked apart the cinnamon bun, unrolling it and then tearing it into strips.

"We'll just take it slow." He told her. They sat in silence, the queen eating the little scraps of cinnamon rolls from Hans's fingertips. He tried not to let himself take pleasure in it too much, but the thought of her needing him made him happy. With twelve brothers . . . well, he had never been needed much in his life. The entire situation made him think of a puppy he had once seen in the woods on a hunting trip. It was a cute little runt, maybe only two weeks old. He wanted to keep it, but his brothers said father would never allow it. They told him to put it down, wouldn't even let him ride all the way to the castle with it because if he did, it would only hurt more when someone had to take it away. He would grow too attached. That was what was happening now. Elsa was the puppy, and he was going to have to have her killed if he wanted to get the power he sought. He should avoid attachment. But instead, he found himself there, feeding her cinnamon buns.

That entire day was a balance between plotting what to do next, feeding Elsa lunch, going into the village to give people blankets and food, checking in on Elsa. Every time they were together, they talked more and more. He felt that he was losing himself, he was slipping away, falling into a dark abyss he could not climb out of. At dinner, Hans fed Elsa roast beef with mashed potatoes and carrots. She ate quietly, until she asked him the one question he never wanted to answer. Not to her.

"Hans, what is it that you want?" He considered lying. He felt his mind flip back and forth between the fake him, and the real him. The fake Hans would have said something cheesy, like _"Oh your majesty, all I have ever wanted is love." _But the real Hans knew the truth. He didn't want to be the fake Hans with Elsa. He liked her, respected her, too much. And if she liked him back, he wanted her to like him for the real Hans.

"Power, your majesty."

"Power? Why?" He sighed. He knew he shouldn't be telling her any of this, it could seriously through a wrench in his plans. But he could not resist. He wanted her to know him.

"I grew up with twelve brothers. I was the youngest. I was invisible. I watched my oldest brothers get groomed for power, I watched as some of them married off into powerful kingdoms, I watched as one of them ascended the throne when my father died. I reached for the same power, and was laughed at. Told I would never amount to anything but the twelfth son. The forgotten son. I was doomed from birth to walk the halls of my father's kingdom unnoticed and unloved. All I have ever wanted was the same power, the same recognition every one of my other brothers got." He looked up into her crystal blue eyes now. "I've only ever wanted to be noticed." Elsa wanted to reach out and put a hand to his face, but the cool metal encasing her hands told her she could not.

"Hans, you are noticed. And you would be noticed for just being yourself." She told him gently. He realized he had leaned in very close to her, inches away from her.

"I am afraid that I am not a very good person to be." He told her. He had never been so honest with anyone in his life. He had never had anyone willing to listen. All Anna had wanted was her perfect prince, she was so obsessed with the fairytale romance she had always sought, that she didn't even see who Hans was, didn't care. And his family, well, there was never any point in being honest with them either.

"I think you could be." She breathed, whispering now. He leaned in the rest of the way and kissed her. She felt so right. So soft and somehow warm. So wrong. He instantly tore his lips away.

"Forgive me your majesty." He told her, looking down. "I shouldn't have-,"

"What if I wanted you too?" She asked, smiling a little.

"I . . ."

"Hans I see who you are, and I like you for you." She told him. He thought of his plan and shook his head rapidly.

"You can't possibly . . ." He let the sentence trail off as he thought of her imminent death.

"I can." She told him confidently. "If you don't like me . . . that's fine. . . but I find myself very much enthralled by you . . . I'm sure we could work thinks out with Anna . . ."

"It's not Anna." He said, not knowing how to tell her.

"What is it?"

"I'm afraid . . . I'm afraid I'll hurt you."

"You won't. Don't you like me?" He felt trapped. He felt like he was a little boy again, trapped in the gardens, being beat by his older brothers. There was no escape, just a prison of legs and arms and fists, wailing down upon him, falling on him like rain.

"I do like you." He told her, feeling himself seemingly split in two.

"Could you . . ." Her eyes flicked down to his lips. "Could you kiss me again?" So he did.

They kissed for what felt like hours, but what must have been only twenty minutes. He then had to leave her, the hour was late. This time, when he left her, he pulled the blankets up over her and kissed her forehead.

"Goodnight, your majesty." He whispered.

"You can just call me Elsa." He smiled at her in the dark.

"Goodnight, Elsa." He let her name roll off his tongue like a forbidden thing, reminding himself just how forbidden she was.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day came to Hans like a bucket of cold water. He felt a doom about the entire thing. He fed Elsa breakfast, kissing her goodbye when he had to leave. She noticed he was sad.

"What is it? What's wrong?" She asked him quietly.

"I just feel like something is going to end today. . ." He told her honestly. He could only ever be honest with her. She smiled at him and kissed his cheek.

"It will be okay." She told him.

Anna came back before Hans could bring Elsa lunch. She was brought into a sitting room, the rumors were that she was ice cold and fading fast. Hans felt a sickness rush upon him. Now was the time. His plan was all coming together. He felt the real Hans slip away, and the fake Hans take place. It was like he was in a trance for the entire ordeal. He woke up when he said,

"Oh Anna, if only someone loved you." He felt an icy evil grip his heart. He put out the fire and watched her fall, shaking, he watched himself crash down in her eyes, watched as that perfect man she had built him up to be was replaced by his true form. He watched as she stared at him in horror. He almost hated himself for not caring. He left the room and locked the door, his footsteps heavy with the weight of what he was doing. Now he wasn't just killing one sister, but two. He had to do it to get what he wanted. He knew they were innocent, but god he wanted power didn't he? Power came with a great price. He slumped in his chair, did his little act, and then paused right before he was about to say the words that would bring him the power he so wanted.

"It is with a heavy heart . . . that I condemn Queen Elsa . . . to death." He felt himself crumbling inside. He felt as if the world were smashing down around him. He finally found love, and he just condemned her to die in order to win the crown. One swing of the sword and everything he had ever wanted would be his. He wouldn't even have to be there for it.

But then somehow she had escaped. She was running across the ice, in between the boats, the storm was raging on around them as he chased her. Part of him wanted to grab her in his arms and hold her to him, and then there was the rest of him, wanting to kill her. Wanting power. He was more at war with himself than he had ever been before. Finally he screamed,

"ANNA IS DEAD! YOU KILLED HER! YOU FROZE HER HEART!" And watched as Elsa crumbled under the words. He neared her, drawing out his sword, his hands shaking, and not from the cold. She turned in time to see him raise the sword.

"Hans . . ." She whispered. " . . . why? I thought we could . . ." realization bloomed in her eyes. "Oh. Power." She looked up at him, tears rolling down her alabaster cheeks. She was so unlike her sister. She _knew_ him. "I loved you." She cried. "I understand."

Now was the moment to change everything. Just by stopping his sword, by putting it away and picking Elsa up and carrying her away to safety, he could have everything he ever wanted and more. He could be king. He could marry Elsa and finally rule, and finally be happy. Or he could kill her, and have absolute power, and rule alone. No one to tell him what to do. No one to ignore him. He found he wouldn't have to worry about being noticed if there was no one around to notice him.

Should he choose power, or love? The war swirled inside him for what seemed like an eon. He watched as her eyes saddened with understanding. She knew what he would choose before he did. How could she know?

"I loved you too." He told her. He realized then that he would have to let her go.

He swung the sword.


	4. Chapter 4

**UPDATE: The story is, in fact, done. The evens of Frozen were meant to take place from here on out, (Hans swings the sword, Anna's icicle of love, etc.) THE END. If you have any more requests, you can always leave a review and I'll get to them. Thanks again for everyone who read and reviewed, I love you for it. :) **


End file.
